Camper&#39;s seat



I. RIETSCHEL.

CAMPERS' SEAT.

APPLICATION FILED IAN-21, I922.

Patented Nov. 28, 1922 2 SI'LEETS-SHEET I.

J. RIETSCHEL.

CAMPERS SEAT;

APPLICATION FILED JAN.21, 1922.

Patented Nov. 2%, 1922,

JOHN RIETSGHEL, 0E CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

CAMPERS SEAT.

Original application filed. September 14, 1921., Serial No. 5Q0,5601 Divided and this application filed January 21, 1922.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JOHN Rinrsonnn, citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in a Campcrs Seat; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to benches or seats and in some of its general aspects aims to provide a seat or bench construction adapted to afford part of a tent-supporting frame and adapted to be supported by another part of such a frame.

In a further aspect, my invention aims to provide a bench or seat having one supporting member adapted to be substitutel for the head rail of a cot frame and having another supporting member adapted to be supported by the side rails of the cot frame. It also aims to provide a bench or seat of this kind employing a flexible seat portion permitting the seat or bench to be rolled into a compact form. Furthermore it aims to provide simple and effective means for interlocking one of the supporting members with the side rails of the cot frame, for Listing the tautness of the seat portion during such interlocking, and for releasing the interlocking engagement when the seat as a whole is to be removed from the other portions of the cot frame.

In one of its highly desirable embodi ments, my invention forms a part of the campers outfit disclosed in my copending application No. 500560J filed September 14,1921, of which my present application is a division. I am therefore illustrating and describing it as used in connection with the other portions of such a campers outfit, although I do not wish to be limited to its use in such a particular connection. Further and more detailed objects of my invention will appear from the following description and from the accompanying drawings, in vwhich- Fig. 1 isa perspective view of a cainpers outfit such as that disclosed in my said co pending parent application, with a portion of the tent cut away to show the disposi Serial No. 530,938.

tion of the seat or bench of my invention at one end of the tent.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged elevation taken from the front of F 1 and showing a portion of one of th side rails of the cot-and-tent-supportin frame together with a portion of one of the corner posts of the said frame, and showing a bench or seat embodying my invention and supported by the said members.

Fig. is a fragmentary end elevation of the same seat or bench taken from the left hand end of Fin. 2 and also showing in section a portion of the adjacent side rail of the cot frame.

Fig. 4 is an enlar ed perspective view of the forward right-hand post of the outfit of Fig. 1, showing the method of attaching one of the supporting members of the bench or eat to this post.

F in. 5 is a perspective view of the com plete bench or seat as it appears when dotachcd from the cot or tent frame, with a portion of the fabric broken away to show the nearer end rail.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged vertical section taken along the correspondingly numbered line in Fig. 8 and showing how a riser or chair at the end of one of the seat supports interlocks with a ratchet plate on the adiacent side rail of the cot frame.

Fig. 7 is a vertical section taken along the correspondingly numbered line in Fig. i and showing the parts fastened to oneof the corner posts.

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of one of the legs or chairsfastened to the inner supporting rail ofthe seat.

F in. 9 is a transverse section through the seat, taken along the correspondingly numbered line of Fio. 5. 4

In the embodiment of the drawings, each of the two seats includes a sheet 1 of canvas or other fabric having its opposite edge portions secured respectively to wooden rails 2 and 8 and desirably having the fabric wrapped partly around each of these rails. The rail 3 which is to be disposed at the end of the tent has its ends fastened to malleable iron castings 4 each of which has a shoulder adapted to engage the inner lateral face of one of the posts 6 of the supporting frame and has a flange 7 disposed at right angles to the said shoulder and adapted to bear against the adjacent outer face of the post. This flange 7 has a slot 8 having an enlarged lower end adapted to slip over the end 9 of ahook on the inner oi the two pivot castings 10 which secure the said posts 6 to the adjacent side rail section 11. However, the slot 8 is reduced in width upwardly so that it will wedgingly engage the shank of the said hook 9 as shown in Fig. 4, thereby causing the casting l to interlock firmly with the said hook 9 when the rail 3 is pressed downwardly. Thus arranged, the rail with its pair of end castings i- :torms a rigid spacer between the two posts at that end of the cotandtent-supporting structure and acts as a substitute for one end rail of the cot bed as described and illustrated in my said parent application.

The companion rail 2 has each end secured to a riser or chair 12, which desirably also is a malleable casting and which a pair oi outwardly and downwardly diverting feet 13 of sufiicient sharpness so that the toot directed towards the casting i is adapted to engage one oi a number of ratchet teeth on a ratchet plate 1 1-. This ratr-het plate is fastened to the top of the adjacent side rail section as shown in Fig. l and has its teeth sloping towards the adjacent end post. To prevent each such chair 12 from being rocked about the tip of the foot directed towards the nearer end post, I pro vide the chair with suitable means "for slidably engaging the adjacent ratchet plate 14;. For this purpose I desirably undercut the ratchet plate 14- at its oppositeside by pro viding the grooves 15 shown in Figs. 2 and 3 and I provide the chair 12 with a pair of opposed hooks l6 directed towards each other and respectively entering the said grooves 15. These hooks have sufficient play within the said grooves to permit each chair to be tilted towards the middle of the side rail after the manner shown in Fig. 6 to a limited extent only.

Thus arranged, it will readily be seen from the drawings that each of these legs or chairs can he slid into position with respect to one of the ratchet plates and moved towards the middle of the tent until the canvas seat portion 1 is drawn taut. Then the tendency of the chair to rock towards the adjacent corner post will be limited. by the said arrangement of the hooks 16, so that a downward pressure on the canvas seat portion 1 will only flex the latter and slightly tilt the chair while leaving one of the feet l3 firmly interlocked with the ratchet plate 14. However, by manipulating the rail 2 or the chairs attached thereto so as: to tilt these chairs after the manner shown in dotted lines in Fig. 6, I can readily release both of the chairs from their said engagement with the ratchet plates on the two side rails,

thereby permitting these chairs to be slid entirely oil the ratchet plates and hence allowing the seat to be detached "from the side rails. is soon as this has been done, the contipanion rail 3 can be lifted so as to release the flanges 7 from the hooks 9, thereby allowing the entire seat to be removed. and per tting the canvas to be rolled up around the two rails it desired.

By thus employing a fabric which is con- 7 tinuously and firmly secured to two rails, one of which forms the spreader bar for a cot "frame or a tent-supporting frame, I avoid the necessity of fastening any portion ot the seat to connections and am therefore ale to secur the firmness and satiety which is highly important, particularly it such a seat or bench is to be occupied by several persons. So also, by supporting the seat or bench upon the cot frame or tent fr me I can easily bring it to a predetermined height with respect to any other object supported by the said frame, such as the folding table 1.7. I also avoid the unsa'lety and wiggling commonly encountered when folding chairs are employed within tents and the diiiiz-ulty of securing a proper level footing for the legs of such chairs. F more, by equipping one of the seat- ..g rails so that it can be used interk, ably with the end rail of the cot bed employed at night in the same tent strucl. avoid the use of additional fastening members for securing the said rail to the posts of the frame structure.

However, while I have illustrated and described my invention as used in connection with a certain folding cot, tent-supporting ant "folding table arrangement, I do not wish to be limited to its use in such a .connection. Neither do I wish to be limited to the various details of construction and arrangement here disclosed, as these might obviously be modified in many ways without departing from the spirit or my invention or from the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. The combination with a cot or tent supporting frame having side rails and end posts extending above the side rails-of a manually detachable seat having an inner supporting rail supported by the side rails and having ail-outer supporting rail interlocked with and spacing a pair of the end posts.

2. The combination with a cot or tent supportingframe having side rails and end posts extending above the side rails, of a seat having an inner supporting rail equipped with legs respectively supported by the side rails, and having an outer sup porting rail interlocked with and spacing a pair of the end posts. a

3. The combination with a cot or tent supporting frame having side rails and end posts extending above the side rails, of a seat having an inner supporting rail equipped with legs respectively supported by the side rails, and having an outer supporting rail interlocked with and spacing a pair of the end pos s, and releasable means on the side rails for preventing the legs from sliding towards the said pair of end posts.

t. The combination with a cot or tent supporting frame having side rail members and end posts extending above the side rail mes. bers, of a seat having an inner supporting rail equipped with means for slidably engaging both side rail members, and having an outer supporting rail secured to and spacing a pair of the end posts, the side rail members having means for preventing a sliding of the inner supporting rail when the seat is in use.

5. A canvas seat support for use on a tent frame, comprising a pair of horizontal side rail members each equipped. with a ratchet formation, and a canvas-supporting bar equipped at its ends for sliding interlocking with the two side rail members and for engaginothe said ratchet formations, the slidable interlocking permitting a rocking of the bar to release the engagement with the ratchet formations.

6. The combination with a cot frame or tent -frame having side rails each connecting two posts of the frame, of a pair of seatsupporting bars disposed transversely of the said side rails, means for securing one bar to two of the posts, legs fast on the other bar, two ratchet plates mountedrespectively on the side rails and supporting the legs,

and means associated with the ratchet plates and engaging the legs to limit the tilting of the latter.

7, A. structure as per claim 6, in which the last named means comprise slidably interengaging formations on each ratchet plate and the leg adjacent thereto, the interengagement 01. the said formations permitting a limited rocking of the leg with respect tothe ratchet plate.

The combination with a cot frame or tent frame having side rails each connecting two posts of the frame, of a pair of seat-supporting bars disposed transversely of the said side rails, means for securing one bar to two of the posts, legs fast on the other bar, two ratchet plates mounted respectively on the side rails and supporting the legs, each ratchet plate having a pair of oppositely disposed grooves extending longitudinally of the adjacent side rail and each leg having a pair oi? opposed fingers respectively entering one of the said grooves,

9. The combination with a cot or tent sup porting frame having side rails and end posts extending above the side rails, of a removable seat supported jointly by the side rails and one pair of end posts when the seat is in use, the said seat comprising a seat bottom stretched between an inner and outer rail, the seat when in use having its inner rail supported by the side rails and having its outer rails interlocked with and spacing a pair of the end posts.

Signed at Chicago, Illinois, January 18th, 1922.

JOHN RIETSCFEL. 

